All results / Stories / Donna Ladd

DailyKos: Obama Now the Front-runner

Kos is making the argument that Barack Obama won Super Tuesday and that now the Clinton campaign is "reeling" because she couldn't accomplish what she needed to in order to cement the nomination:

The Ledger's Co-Dependency with Frank Melton

One wonders where The Clarion-Ledger edit-boyz came up with this lead to their editorial berating their mayor for doing, pretty much, exactly what he indicated he would do during the campaign:

Hi From New York

We're up in New York for a long weekend while I study at a Columbia reporting seminar called "Let's Do It Better," a workshop on covering race. (I met Henry Louis Gates, Jr.!) I'm also studying extremely hard, as you can see below the fold.

Alert the Media: Richard Barrett Digs Seale

The Clarion-Ledger continues to puzzle on their James Ford Seale coverage since they figured out that he was still alive. Yesterday, they ran a big story giving publicity to folks like white-supremacist lawyer (and New Jersey native) Richard Barrett (the Nationalist folks) who are trying to suck some attention off the notoriety of the James Ford Seale case.

Noose Found on Door of Black Columbia Professor

Well, if anything, the Jena 6 situation is going to expose the racism and bigotry in our midst—all of our midst. And that is a damn good thing. We've got to clean out these wounds and deal with the ugliness. And you can't do that if you're in denial about it being there. Associated Press:

The Effect of Immigrants on U.S. Employment and Productivity

The evidence is overwhelming that immigrants (including ones many like to label as "illegals") are not a drag on the U.S. economy and may even help it. Here is an economic research letter published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco that flies in the face of much of the rhetoric out there pushed by politicians who want to use immigration as an election wedge issue: yet another fear tactic used by people who assume most Americans are too dumb to do their own homework. With any luck, Americans will prove them wrong.

Is Palin Kidding!?!

I've about stopped posted absurd statements by Sarah Palin, but this one strikes at the very core of our American birthright. She actually thinks that being criticized for being too "negative" in her statements about Obama is, somehow, a violation of her First Amendment rights. One of the most dangerous things a politician (demagogue?) can promote is that Americans do not have the right to *respond* to speech they don't like. Speech, dear Palin heart, flows to directions, not only out of your mouth. ABC News:

Who's Got the Biggest Fallacy?

The MississippiforMcCain Web site is truly acting like a cyber-moron at the moment. We just turned up this general swipe at "another lefty"—who, it turns out, is a guy with radical, inconsistent (at best) views at best who wrote a letter to the Ledger the McCain crowd doesn't like. George Lambus wrote to the Ledger complaining that:

‘I'm Keeping the House'

Amy Ephron is blogging on Huff Post about women who publicly stand by their cad husbands, as Eliot Spitzer's wife is doing, despite the humiliation:

Just Gotta Brag on the iTodd a Little

AAN has posted a link to the survey responses from last year's Web conference in San Francisco. Yes, the Mississippi dude represented well. ;-)

Is the South Politically Irrelevant?

Read this provocative piece in the Times about, well, us:

Immigration Myths on Radio JFP

Join Todd Stauffer, Donna Ladd, Adam Lynch and Erik Fleming of the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance today on WLEZ 103.7 FM at noon for a discussion of immigration myths and realities. You can also listen to a live stream here.

Hello from Chi-town

So I'm up in Chicago right now teaching at the Academy for Alternative Journalism done at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern. It's been fun and inspiring—10 students are chosen every year for the workshop with the goal of increasing diversity in the alternative media by teaching them how to write alternative-style—meaning, for the most part, not like the daily newspaper. ;-) We teach heavy immersion reporting, narrative writing and in-depth research. I love it—it's definitely "being deliberate" about finding the right way to ensure that our industry covers all our communities in meaning ways.

Clarion-Ledger Lifts Ladd Out of Context

It's remarkable, really, to see how other journalists (or editors) work. Chris Joyner and I had a good talk about public records yesterday—and I made it clear to him repeatedly that I had *two* concerns about The Clarion-Ledger's settlement with Melton: 1. That because it was public-records law, which must apply to everyone, that that be taken into consideration when an agreement was reached with one publication. We talked about the problems with this in some details. 2. That Melton's private attorney, Danks, should not be in the role of "overseeing" the public-records process in any way. We also talked in some detail about the reason the city has so many public-records requests—because they do not have good public information folks and that they tell media outlets to file a public-records request over the silliest little thing -- then it becomes a big drama for them.

Todd's New Book Is Out!

JFP Publisher Todd Stauffer's new book, "How to Do Everything with Your Web 2.0 Blog," is out! You can order the book online at Powell's and other outlets. It should also be in local bookstores anytime now.

C.A. Webb Launches New JFP Blog

Poet, author and all-around Jackson creative personality C.A. Webb has launched his new JFP blog. C.A. has been posting provocative forum threads, including the currently hot thread on Spike Lee's appearance at Ole Miss. We welcome C.A. to the JFP Web site.

Bush's New ‘Hood Barred Non-Whites Until 2000

Raw Story is reporting that George and Laura Bush's new neighborhood in Dallas barred non-whites (except servants) until eight years ago:

Clarion-Ledger Endorses Faye Peterson

A hat tip to The Clarion-Ledger for endorsing Faye Peterson, and for substantive, real reasons. They were late on the D.A. race—not endorsing and barely covering it before the primaries—but they seemed to have spent the additional time doing research on the D.A.'s office, its challenges and Peterson's real track record, not the one pushed by her opponents. This is the kind of journalism and studied decisions the public deserves to see more of from the Ledger. A lot rides on this race, and it appears that their editorial board got it. Good job, edit-boyz.

JFP Chick Ball: Only $5 Cover Charge - Saturday, July 24, Hal & Mal's, 6 p.m.-1 a.m.

Pass it on! The cover charge for the JFP Chick Ball is only $5, as always. (You can also purchase $5 door-prize tickets.) The $5 includes food from local restaurants and all the Chick Ball events. Enter through the Red Room entrance.

Will ‘Donna Madd' Be Able to Skate Saturday!?!

OK, the denial is about to wear off: I really am going to have a skate-off against Dawn Dugle of WAPT at the National Guard Armory in Clinton on Saturday morning about 11. As in tomorrow. I used to roller skate, and pretty well, but until Wednesday night, it had been about 20 years since I'd been on roller skates. And I've been so busy of late that I couldn't get over and practice until this week. (Dawn's been practicing for weeks; grrrr.) I skated 20 or 30 minutes max, and when I first tried to stand up, I thought I had forgotten how to skate completely. Two little girls without skates walked me around the rink to hold me up. But then I started feeling more comfortable. However, I know I didn't practice long enough, so I don't know what is going to happen Saturday morning. I did not fall down, though, so there is that.